The
Old Royal Naval College is the architectural centrepiece of Maritime Greenwich, a
World Heritage Site in
Greenwich, London, described by the
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization as the "finest and most dramatically sited architectural and landscape ensemble in the British Isles". The buildings were originally constructed to serve as the
Royal Hospital for Seamen at Greenwich, now generally known as Greenwich Hospital, which was chartered by
King William III and
Queen Mary II on 25 October 1694, designed by
Christopher Wren, and built between 1696 and 1712. The hospital closed in 1869. Between 1873 and 1998 it housed the
Royal Naval College, Greenwich. This panoramic photograph depicts the two buildings of the Old Royal Naval College viewed from across the
River Thames, with the
Queen's House visible in the background in between.
Photograph credit: Colin